Oilers Notebook: Oilers lean on balanced attack

If there's one thing that stands out about the Connecticut Oilers as they approach the 20-game mark, it's their balanced scoring.

Unlike last season, the Oilers have no one ranked in the top 10 in the EHL in scoring.

What they do have, however, is nine players with at least 11 points, yet no one with more than 19 (Lucas Bombardier).

The Oilers also boast eight players with at least five goals but no one with more than nine (Bombardier).

Bombardier was named the EHL first star for the period ending Sunday after amassing 10 points -- three goals and seven assists -- in three games, including a five-point effort in a 10-1 win over the Valley Junior Warriors on Oct. 29.

Bombardier is tied for 15th in the EHL in scoring, the only Oiler in the top 20.

But the balanced scoring is a coach's dream and a nightmare for opposing coaches because they can't focus on trying to shut down one or two players.

"The nice thing, too, is we have from our defensive corps a tremendous amount of scoring," assistant coach Steve Brown said. "The balance is across the board, not just with the traditional goal scorers but from the back as well."

Head coach Eric Lind, who missed both games last weekend and Monday's practice while recovering from a stomach bug, wants players who can fit his up-tempo style which places a premium on speed and strong skating.

Lind also allows the defensemen to join the rush, and the Oilers have two of the EHL's highest-scoring blueliners in Cam Cundy (second, 3-13-16) and Alex Wilkinson (fourth, 7-7-14). Wilkinson's goal total also leads all EHL defensemen.

The Oilers extended their winning streak to eight games with a 5-2 victory over New York Apple Core last Sunday.

Another manifestation of the Oilers' approach is a high shot total. They routinely out-shot their opponents and have registered the second-most shots in the EHL with 680 in 17 games, an average of 40 per contest.

As well as the Oilers have been playing, it's hard to find any negatives, so maybe it's nitpicking to report they lead the EHL in 10-minute misconduct penalties with 11.

The Oilers are third in penalty killing (87.8) and third in power play efficiency (21.7).

"It's fun to watch," Brown added.

LIGHTING THE LAMP: Brendan May and Ludvig Steenberg scored their first Oilers' goals in last Saturday's 5-2 win over the Vermont Lumberjacks before Steenberg scored again the following day against New York Apple Core.

Oilers' goaltender Chris Bastone has happy to see the players finally break the ice.

May's goal came on a slap shot from just outside the right faceoff circle.

"Luddie is one of our best grinders, he's got a bunch of assists (team-high 13)," Bastone said. "As for Brendan, it's nice to see him get his shot off. He has a big slapper."

DUELING GOALIES: Lind seems to have settled into a patten in which Bastone and Michael Tilford play every other game in net as each have gone 4-0 during the winning streak.

Both have six wins on the season with goals-against averages under three.

Tilford is 6-1 with a 2.60 GAA while Bastone is 6-3 with a 2.40 GAA. Bastone's save percentage of .922 is slightly higher than Tilford's mark of .896.

"We're both playing well and we're on a nice little winning streak," Bastone said. "We have to keep going and whoever takes the starting job, takes it."

ROBINSON BACK WITH U-18s: With the Oilers at full strength, Kevin Robinson has returned to the Oilers' under-18 team.

Robinson played in four games with the Oilers' EHL club, registering two goals and an assist.

Paul McAvoy hopes to be back in the lineup this weekend after sitting out the games against the Lumberjacks and Apple Core after suffering a concussion the previous weekend.

VETERAN'S DAY SHOWCASE AHEAD: The Oilers (12-5-0-0) will try to extend their winning streak this weekend at the EHL's Veteran's Day Showcase in Hooksett, N.H.

The Oilers face the Northern Cyclones (9-3-2-0) on Saturday, the New England Wolves (3-10-0-1) on Sunday at the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (13-1-0-0) on Monday.

The Monarchs have won 13 in a row after a season-opening 4-2 loss to the Lumberjacks.

Despite their eight-game winning streak, the Oilers have been unable to pick up any ground on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (15-5-0-0), who also have won eight straight to maintain a six-point lead over Connecticut in the Central Division.

The Oilers do, however, have three games in hand.

WIDMAR DECOMMITS: Joe Widmar, the Oilers' leading scorer last season, has decommitted from the Universty of Maine.

Widmar, one of the first recruits for new Black Bears' coach Red Gendron, announced a verbal commitment to attend Maine last year but is playing this season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL.